Statement by President Joe Biden  —  Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place.  Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces …

CNN insider says network ‘needs to step up and fire Brian Stelter’ for not exposing Jeff Zucker affair: report  —  The network employee said Stelter's 'been sitting on his moral high horse doing Jeff's biddling'  —  Zucker's actions an ‘embarrassment’ for CNN: Kurtz

Unmasking Of Rudy Giuliani On Fox's ‘The Masked Singer’ Prompts Judges Ken Jeong & Robin Thicke To Walk Off In Protest  —  EXCLUSIVE, SPOILER ALERT: Rudy Giuliani was last week unmasked as an exiting costumed contestant in the taping of the first episode of Fox's popular prime time show The Masked Singer.

Inside Mississippi's only class on critical race theory  —  As Republican lawmakers push to ban critical race theory, here's how the class changed the mind of one conservative Mississippian.  —  Brittany Murphree was born and raised in Rankin County, Mississippi, one of the most Republican counties …

Memo circulated among Trump allies advocated using NSA data in attempt to prove stolen election  —  The proposal to seize and analyze “NSA unprocessed raw signals data” raises legal and ethical concerns that set it apart from other attempts that have come to light.

Memos Show Roots of Trump's Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors  —  Just over two weeks after Election Day, lawyers working with the Trump campaign set out a rationale for creating alternate slates of electors as part of an effort to buy time to overturn the results.

Take The Hint, John Roberts — It's Time For You To Retire, Too  —  “Judges are like umpires,” John Roberts famously said at his confirmation hearing as Chief Justice.  “Umpires don't make the rules, they apply them ... They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role.

America is in Europe to stay — thanks to Putin  —  By threatening Ukraine's sovereignty, Moscow has achieved something Biden could not do on his own: unite the west  —  So much for America's shift from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific.  By demanding concessions that have shocked a divided …

L.A. Mayor Garcetti Says He Held His Breath For Maskless Photo With Magic Johnson  —  Los Angeles Mayor — and Biden Administration ambassadorial nominee — Eric Garcetti today defended his actions after maskless photos surfaced of him and Lakers great Magic Johnson, along …

How much 2022 candidates are paying after endorsements  —  Some big-name 2022 candidates are cutting checks to high-profile backers who endorsed their campaigns, records show.  —  Why it matters: Key endorsements are a known boon to campaigns battling for support, especially among ideologically committed primary voters.

National Butterfly Center on Texas border closing indefinitely after attacks from right-wing conspiracy theorists  —  The National Butterfly Center on the Texas border is closing “for the immediate future” after conspiracy-fueled attacks against the center on social media escalated in recent days.

POLITICO Playbook: What Eric Adams taught Joe Biden about the politics of crime  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT — via AP's Ghaith Alsayed, Lolita Baldor and Bassem Mroue: “U.S. special forces carried out what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria early Thursday.

When the Pope Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie, That's Ahmari  —  From neoconservatism to integralist cosplay to active worship of China and Russia, the ‘post-liberal’ right has had a giddy five years  —  I first met Sohrab Ahmari, one of the most influential and controversial writers …

NYC Mayor Adams dines with ex-Gov. Cuomo at Midtown restaurant  —  Mayor Adams enjoyed a two-hour dinner with Andrew Cuomo at a popular Italian restaurant in Manhattan on Tuesday night, raising eyebrows from critics of the former governor who resigned last year amid a flurry of sexual misconduct accusations.

Lewandowski's New Gig: Get Rid of Gov. Sununu  —  On the Howie Carr radio show Wednesday, Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski said his old boss has given him a new job: Get rid of Gov. Chris Sununu.  —  “When we spoke earlier in the day, you told me that [President Trump] assigned you a couple …

3 more women say Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy filmed them without asking during sex … In November 2021, three young women came forward about sexual encounters they had with Barstool Sports' founder, Dave Portnoy.  These women told Insider the experiences with Portnoy turned frightening …

Former Human Rights Campaign president alleges racial bias in his firing after Andrew M. Cuomo scandal  —  The former president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBTQ advocacy group, sued the organization Thursday, contending that a pattern of racial discrimination led …

Exclusive: NRA Revenues Cut in Half Since 2018, Legal Spending Spiked in 2021  —  The National Rifle Association of America shrank significantly through the first eight months of 2021, according to detailed financial records obtained by The Reload.  —  The contraction came in membership …

Peter Schweizer's ‘Red-Handed’ Hits #1 on New York Times Bestseller List  —  Peter Schweizer's blockbuster new book Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list, one week after its release by HarperCollins.

D.C. bar that broke vaccine rules closed for health violations  —  A D.C. bar that was feted by conservative media as it lost its liquor license for violating vaccine rules was closed by the city's health department Tuesday for food code violations.  —  The Big Board, located …

Donald Trump's Old ‘Grudge’ Helped Propel Ron DeSantis to GOP Stardom: Lev Parnas  —  Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas has said that former President Donald Trump's boosted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' political career because of a “grudge” against former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Virginia judge declines to act immediately on school boards' suit seeking to halt Youngkin's mask-optional order  —  An Arlington County Circuit Court judge is weighing how to act on a request from seven Virginia school boards to halt implementation of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's order making masks optional in schools.

So long, Omicron: White House eyes next phase of pandemic  —  The White House is preparing to move on from Omicron.  —  Emboldened by falling case counts, the Biden administration is plotting a new phase of the pandemic response aimed at containing the coronavirus and conditioning Americans to live with it.